Wednesday, September 12, 2012

7th Annual Shawnee Wheels and Dreams Car Show was bigger than I bargained for

On Sunday, I had this bright idea that I could go to 10:30 church, partake in a heaping plate of fake Krab salad from the Golden Corral buffet with my family, go home, get the truck, dart over to Shawnee to snap a few quick pictures of the 7th Annual Wheels and Dreams Car Show, and still make it to the awards ceremony at the All-Truck Nationals in Riverside at 2:00.
What I wasn’t counting on was the size of the Shawnee event. I mean, this thing is a big deal. There were cars as far down the street as you could see, and more on the side streets. And the people—my God, the people. There’s no way anyone is going to take fast pictures with that many bodies standing around everywhere. I have to admit, I was quite surprised with the popularity of this event.

And it wasn’t just a lot of cars. It was a lot of good cars. Take this 1946 Chrysler Town and Country convertible. This car was absolutely beautiful, with enough gleaming, varnished mahogany and ash to furnish the guest bedroom. I don’t remember having seen this particular car before, but I wouldn’t mind seeing it again. It really was gorgeous.

This ’57 Ford Ranch Wagon weren’t no slouch either. You don’t see too many of these anyway, and with those dual four barrels under the hood, this one was extra cool. You see a lot of Fairlane coupes and convertibles around, but this was really a refreshing change. It makes you with the minivan had never been invented.

And here’s a great little ’51 Chevy Deluxe convertible. Chevy may have been an economical car, but with all that deep, rich maroon inside and out, this one looked pretty upscale to me. I can’t imagine this car was this perfect when it was new, especially with all that unblemished, mirror-like chrome and numerous desirable accessories. It was nice to see this much attention lavished on a Stovebolt Chevy, with no attempt to hot rod it or otherwise modify it beyond how it could have left the new car dealer’s lot.

In 1993, the Chevrolet Camaro paced the Indianapolis 500. They also had numerous track trucks and service vehicles painted in the matching black-over-white scheme. I was actually at the race that year, and while I don’t remember seeing any Caprice station wagons so decorated, that didn’t stop someone from applying those graphics to this car. It was missing the pace car sticker from the right door, and I might have chosen some wheels that more closely resembled the white painted aluminum examples on the actual pace cars, but overall I thought this was a pretty neat idea. It’s not like every other Caprice wagon on the block, that’s for sure.

I took 365 pictures at this show in about 30 minutes, and I was still missed my name getting called out at the truck show. But that’s OK, because I’d rather have the photo gallery, which you can either see in the slideshow below, or in a nicer version at this link. And since this is south of my normal stomping grounds, you’ll see a few cars in there that you normally wouldn’t. I hope you like them!